


"I would do anything for you"

by John_Nygma



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate - Freeform, M/M, alternate outcome, s03e05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 08:36:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9171112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/John_Nygma/pseuds/John_Nygma
Summary: After Edward has been attacked by Butch, Oswald takes care of his best friend. And what if in their intense, private moment on the couch Oswald finally dares to act upon his feelings...





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first Gotham fanfic back in the day. That scene on the couch just wouldn't let me go, I so desperately wanted it to be more! So I did some little rewrites and added a bit more detail so now we can all enjoy that magic conversation in front of the fireplace ^^ I hope you enjoy it

It’s the evening of a day that was both planned and utterly chaotic. Oswald doesn’t really know what to think, who to call or who to punish. He would have liked to kill Butch right then and there and go after anyone else he was involved with. But right now that doesn’t matter, those things could wait. Only a few minutes ago Edward had been lying nearly dead at his feet and the image was still unnerving him to his very core. 

Now Edward and Oswald are in the Penguin’s house. Sitting on the couch is Edward in a dressing gown touching his red throat as Oswald approaches him with a cup of tea. Carefully he offers it to Edward who takes the cup. They both smile vaguely.  
“Ginger tea with honey, it was my mother’s remedy for a sore throat.” says Oswald with a mild beam. Edward looks at him then down at the cup. For a second Oswald scrutinizes him before he addresses Edward’s throat with a concerned expression: “You sure you don’t need a doctor?”  
“No, I’m fine.” Edward tries to sound strong but doesn’t quite manage it and coughs. Under Oswald’s watchful eyes he starts drinking the tea.   
The two of them are sitting close together on a couch in front of a fireplace. It’s one of Oswald’s more private places in the house. No one else is home; Oswald had wanted to take care of Edward’s health personally. Right now he doesn’t dare to let anyone else near his chief of staff.  
“I still don’t understand why you didn’t tell me what you were doing.” Oswald looks at him, worried, puzzled.  
“You were shock.” Edward puts down the saucer slowly as he continues talking, “It had to be genuine. And the people had to believe it. And once again you are the city’s hero.” He chuckles.  
Oswald stares at him. “But you were almost killed.” he says anxiously.   
“And you saved me.” Edward reassures him. “Again” Another chuckle and this time even Oswald smiles for a second. They look at each other for a moment before Edward continues slowly but somehow intense in emotion: “I hope you know, Oswald, that I would do anything for you.”  
Oswald doesn’t say anything, he is not blinking, not moving.   
“And you can always count on me.” Edward adds with an assured look.

Oswald is unable to speak, he can only look at Edward with his mouth slightly open. He is simply overwhelmed by Edward’s words, his heart is running like crazy, in his mind all voices talk over each other. Oswald doesn’t know what is going on but he feels that suddenly the atmosphere seems to change.   
For this short moment the two brilliant minds, misunderstood by society and even by people close to them, don’t have to think about anything else. It’s only the two of them, the Penguin and the Riddle Man. Never would Oswald let them get separated again, never would he let anyone lay a hand on Edward Nygma.   
Oswald looks at the man in front of him and loses himself in his brown eyes and the sound of his words resonating in his mind. And suddenly he feels this strange impulse he has had in Edward’s presence before, but this time… 

He reacts almost instinctively. Edward may be surprised for a second as Oswald leans in but when their lips touch he doesn’t move away. He just lets it happen; a hint of a smile comes over his mouth then he leans into the kiss as well. When he feels Edward replying his advance, Oswald even dares to carefully put his hand on the other’s head.   
He doesn’t know how to explain what is happening, why his heart seems like it’s about to explode in excitement. All the worries he has had over the past weeks because of the election, all the bad dreams he has had since the death of his mother and all those moments of belittlement are washed away in this very moment. Being here with Edward is all he needs to feel happiness once again.

The kiss is brief, shy and ends as strangely impulsively as it had happened but somehow it feels good, despite the slightly bizarre atmosphere. They break apart and Oswald lets his hand glide away from Edward’s face almost immediately. But the taller man doesn’t fall back so that their foreheads are still touching each other linking their wistful gazes. Behind the glass of the spectacles is an odd shine in his eyes. 

Both of them don’t really seem to know how to react or if they’re supposed to say something. But then Oswald sees the expression in Edward’s eyes and the other young man’s almost invisible smile. Their unblinking eyes stare at each other, full of thoughts and emotions.  
“Thank you” Oswald eventually says quietly; there’s something both sad and relieved in his voice.

Edward only nods and lets out a soft chuckle again. It has been a while since he had been able to feel like this and also agree to these kinds of emotions; ever since Kristen’s death he had thought those feelings lost. But right now Edward feels strangely at peace and just as thankful. He knows that there had always been something, not necessarily love or attraction between them, but he had certainly continuously admired Penguin and over time a sort of bond had grown between them. Even now Edward could not really explain it but for once he doesn’t have to. This is a riddle he is still about to fully discover and he is happy to have Oswald at his side for this. 

The two men are smiling and watching each other’s shy and almost unnoticeable movements of both affection and embarrassment; Oswald is still gazing at Edward with this expression of disbelief. All his life he had been the outcast, the odd one out and he had thought that he must also behave like this: be the King of Gotham, and a king is unapproachable and doesn’t fall for simple admirers. But then Edward had become so much more to him by now and slowly but steadily Oswald had found himself feeling different. He still is this ruthless young man who is not to be trifled with but as soon as he sees Edward his mind seems to discover something else. And now that Oswald is looking at Edward, he realizes that to this man he can be anyone, he never has to hide or act. 

Oswald is eventually the first to move again. He grabs the cup of tea and hands it to Edward.  
“Please drink. You need it.” he says with a smile and Edward takes the cup from him. “I wouldn’t want my chief of staff to be sick for too long.”  
They both laugh and Edward takes a sip. They both don’t know what will happen in the future, what is going to be become of the two of them. They could run Gotham together and never worry about anything else. They could be their smart, criminal selves if they wanted. But in this very moment it doesn’t matter, for either of them. They both feel happy and at ease and know that one is just as weird as the other. They don’t need anything else.


End file.
